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A Wild Pursuit
by Eloisa James
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Thorndike Press (2004-05-14)
ISBN: 0786265035
EAN: 9780786265039
Dewy Decimal #: 813.54
Hardcover: 541 pages
Edition: 1
SKU: H4795
Condition: New
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
A New York Times Bestselling Author It is whispered behind the fans of London's dowagers and in the corners of ballrooms that scandal follows willfully wild Lady Beatrix Lennox wherever she goes. Three years before, the debutante created a sensation by being found in a decidedly compromising position. Now, branded unmarriageable by the ton and a vixen by her family, Beatrix sees no reason not to go after what - and who - she wants. And she wants Stephen Fairfax-Lacy . . . Available only in Core 6 & 7.
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Customer Reviews
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Well, I thought it was delightful
Rating  (5)
Date: 2008-04-21
I really liked this book. James' style is funny and refreshing in a great load of dignified historical romance. She includes sweet details about regency life that float through the description. The characters are real, but overall commendable. The romances are real, too. I would recommend forgetting the summary and just going with the story. I also recommend starting with Duchess in Love. I didn't, this is first Eloisa James book I've read, but there was clearly a back story I was missing... I really didn't mind, the characters spoke for themselves, but it would probably help.
I finish with saying that I don't usually leave reviews of books. Reading is a personal experience for me and I have a bad way of either liking or disliking something absolutely so my opinions aren't particularly discerning. So grain of salt and all, okay? I'm leaving this review mostly to put another five-star rating into the average and defend the story a bit.
So, yeah, I liked it a lot. You might, too.
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A Wild Pursuit
Rating  (3)
Date: 2007-11-25
I stumbled across this novel by complete accident and I still don't know how it got to my office. I would have never thought of buying it to be honest. At first I was really shocked. I mean the characters would still be shocking even if they lived in the 21 st century, let alone regency England! However I found myself enjoying the story, or rather stories, as they progressed. If you are looking for a typical regency romance where the rake falls in love with an innocent yet willful woman, this is definitely not the book for you. The characters are completely unconventional and as far as can be from perfect which makes their exchanges witty, fun and completely refreshing. I still prefer conventional romances where the hero and heroine share the kind of true love that lasts forever but I would not mind reading Ms. James's novels every once in a while.
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Enjoyable if you've read the series
Rating  (4)
Date: 2006-06-20
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
I really liked this book so I was surprised to see such bad reviews. After going through some of them, I can see now that people who have actually read the series are those who are able to appreciate this story more.
Many of the characters in this book first made their appearance in "Duchess in Love". I think if you read that book first, you'll enjoy this one more.
I admit that I didn't really find Eloisa James all that interesting when I first read one of her books (Taming of the Duke) but now I'm a convert. Her the writing is excellent; characters are very refreshing -- no one too perfect and each with their own idiosyncrasies; the interlacing plots engaging; and the characters' exchanges witty and real. The whole plot reminded me of Shakespeare comedy.
I'm a great fan of series books but unlike others (for instance, Julia Quinn's Bridgerton series, which I LOVE)these don't seem to do well as standalones. Read the series, and you may enjoy them as much as I did.
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heroine is trash
Rating  (1)
Date: 2006-03-21
3 out of 7 customers found this reveiw helpful
Wow, I did not like this book. I disliked the characters more than the story itself and in the end, good characters can save a so-so story but not the other way around.
Bea, our heroine, is a tart. That is it - she is. She paints herself up so that only a member of Kiss could appreciate her facial canvas. She is a girl who wears such revealing clothes that her nipples are in view to any and all to see, including our 40 something bachelor, Stephen Fairfax-Lacy. Stephen is a member of Parliament and he is very tired of politics as he feels he is not really getting anything accomplished. So, he wants to enjoy and find a mistress because, for some reason, politics and sex did not mix for him. Crazy idea, isn't it.
He visits the home of Esme Rawlings, the pregnant widow of Miles, who died when Esme's lover appeared in Esme's room and Miles has a heart attack and died. For real. Can not make this stuff up. The lover is the Earl of Bonnington and this whole story about him being the gardener at Esme's estate just to be near her, well, is just silly. Anyhow, getting back to Bea and Stephen, Stephen decides to take as his mistress the ever proper Helene, who is estranged from her husband, a husband who is living with an opera singer. I did not have a problem with Esme and her girlfriends having bad marriages but Bea, the debutante, discarded daughter of a Duke after her trashy behavior, was over the top. She was a ho girl pure and simple and no amount of window dressing can change that. Also, for Stephen to quit Parliament to retire with his tart to the country reflected, I thought, poorly on his character. After all, Parliament needs men who can make a difference and no one said it would be easy.
Bea and Stephen are from different maturity worlds and their romance rang very false. It left an immage of a middle aged movie star marrying a 18 year old playboy bunny. Trashy... A romance between Stephen and Helene would be more appropriate and a better story. After all, it would have taken an act of Parliament to get her divorced from her husband, Earl Godwin. Seeing Stephen stand beside her through that struggle would have been worth a read.
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What if Jane Austen had the sense (and sensibility) of Sex and the City's gal pals?
Rating (4)
Date: 2005-09-08
8 out of 8 customers found this reveiw helpful
Lady Beatrix Lennox is not your average society miss. Caught in the arms of a rake during her first season, Bea found herself ruined and disavowed by her father. Other disgraced debutantes might have gone straight into hiding, but not Bea. Now a dame de compagnie to Arabella, Viscountess Withers -- herself the subject of gossip -- Bea has blossomed into a dazzling sophisticate well-versed in affairs of the heart. Accompanying Arabella to Wiltshire for a house party for her expectant niece, Esme Rawlings, Bea decides to amuse herself by teaching the very proper Helene, the Countess Godwin, how to seduce the very proper Stephen Fairfax-Lacy.
Weary of his duties in Parliament, Stephen Fairfax-Lacy accepts an invitation to attend a house party held at the country home of "Infamous Esme." He figures a house party filled with beautiful and notorious women will provide him with a new mistress to relieve his ennui. Before long, however, Stephen finds himself swimming in a sea of feminine intrigue and caught in a web between three women: engaged to Esme, designated lover to Helene, and utterly smitten with the ineligible Beatrix. What's a gentleman to do?
What if Jane Austen had the sense (and sensibility) of Sex and the City's gal pals? The result just might be something like Eloisa James' A WILD PURSUIT. Witty, amusing and heartwarming, Ms. James scandalous ladies are back and better than ever. While ongoing plots continue to unfold such as Esme's ongoing pregnancy (surely a record in the annals of romance fiction!) and Helene's ongoing feud with her estranged husband, the romance at the heart of A WILD PURSUIT belongs to Bea and Stephen. Bea hides her unhappiness behind skillfully applied maquillage and a seductive manner, but Stephen looks beyond the gloss and finds a soul mate. Their unorthodox path to true love runs the gamut from playful to poignant and will long remain in a reader's memory after the turn of the last page.
While each story in this series can stand alone, it is highly recommended that readers start with DUCHESS IN LOVE and FOOL FOR LOVE in order to be familiar with ongoing plots and recurring characters. And for those already caught up with these extraordinary women and their unforgettable men, your next book should be YOUR WICKED WAYS, Helene's and Rees' story. Don't miss this delightfully wicked and totally original series!
TheSchemer
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